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Mud Wren...

My wife was up in Oklahoma on the 12th of this month and said that the saw a wren-like bird nesting underneath her mother's patio roof.
My wife also said that is was similar to a house wren (like we have here at our house) but it was darker on top, and lighter on the bottom, she is not very good at identifying birds, kind'a like me.

Anyway, my (know-it-all) brother-n-law said, "That is a "mud wren"!, which I immediately thought, "That must be slang for some kind of a bird", after all, it is VERY country up there. ("There" is up North of Hugo Lake in South Eastern Oklahoma)

So, does anyone here know what would be called a "mud wren", so my wife can sleep at night?
(I did look it up on Google, but no pictures were really available for it, only 'normal wrens')

Re: Mud Wren...

Hi Randy,
Carolina Wrens are notorious for building nests in places such as under roofs, in baskets, etc. Carolina Wrens are quite similar to House Wrens, except they have a stronger white eyeline and buffier underparts. Carolina Wren is also the more likely of the two to be nesting in SE Oklahoma - the southern edge of the House Wren's summer range is in the upper half of Oklahoma.
The other option would be a Bewick's Wren - like the Carolina except darker overall - but Bewick's is less common and doesn't usually nest around man-made structures. I'd go with Carolina Wren

Re: Mud Wren...

Thanks Cal,

I did show my wife images of all of the wrens, but she said it didn't look like any of them, which doesn't mean much, it may not be a wren at all.
The "Mud" part is what threw me though, she said that "part" of the nest was mud, hence the name, I guess.
I don't know what it was, I wasn't there, I'd trust y'all before I would trust her (or me) identifying a bird, but she swears it didn't look anything at all like the (house) wren that is always in our backyard, and our patio cover, which we both see daily.

Re: Mud Wren...

Re: Mud Wren...

I agree with Vern. I have heard mud nests that arent built by Barn Swallows as mud wrens and when I have checked they are Eastern Phoebe nests. Carolina Wren seldom if ever use mud for nests but Phoebes do.

Re: Mud Wren...

Originally Posted by Vern

Randy, show your wife a photo of an Eastern Phoebe and see what she thinks.

Well, she says, "No, that's not what I saw..."
I showed her a lot of shots of them using Google Image, and she is certain that isn't it.
Now she's saying that it's darker on top, and not as dark underneath, I took it before like it was dark on top, and light underneath, I guess it's all in how one perceives what they see. heheh

Anyway, thank you for trying, sooner or later I'll get to the bottom of this great mystery.

Re: Mud Wren...

Originally Posted by Richard Kinney

I agree with Vern. I have heard mud nests that arent built by Barn Swallows as mud wrens and when I have checked they are Eastern Phoebe nests. Carolina Wren seldom if ever use mud for nests but Phoebes do.

Richard,

She just told me that she didn't actually see any mud in the nest, she only heard my brother-in-law say it was a "mud wren", but why they call it that, I have no idea. It could be anything, I showed her all kinds of birds online and ones that I have taken a photo of, but no cee-gar.

Re: Mud Wren...

Originally Posted by Vern

Randy, show your wife a photo of an Eastern Phoebe and see what she thinks.

I hate to revive a really old thread, but I felt compelled to since it was of such importance.

Finally, my wife went back up to Oklahoma and saw the bird again, and this time she took a better look at it.
It turns out, it an Eastern Phoebe like what you and Richard said.
(I showed her what y'all had said too, but she didn't think that was it, at that time)
That would've been my choice too, after looking at all of the possibilities, but, she said, "No", so what was I to do?
What I learned from this is that they do use mud for their nests, I didn't know that, AND, my wife (probably) doesn't know an American Eagle from a Coot! (I kid, I kid)

Thank you all for the replies though, I wanted to let you know what it was so y'all could sleep at night. heheh